Freedom in the World, 2007

Since 1978, Freedom House has published Freedom in the World,
an annual comparative assessment of the state of political rights and
civil liberties around the world. Widely used by policy makers,
journalists, and scholars, the 600-page survey is considered the
definitive report on freedom around the globe. The ratings reflect
global events from Dec. 1, 2005, through Dec. 31, 2006.

According to the survey, 90 countries are free. Their 3.0 billion
inhabitants (47% of the world's population) enjoy a broad range of
rights. Fifty-eight countries representing 1.1 billion people (30%) are
considered partly free. Political rights and civil liberties are more
limited in these countries, in which corruption, dominant ruling
parties, or, in some cases, ethnic or religious strife is often the
norm. The survey finds that 45 countries are not free. The 2.4 billion
inhabitants (23%) of these countries, nearly one-half of whom live in
China, are denied most basic political rights and civil liberties. In
2006, Guyana moved from Partly Free to Free, and Haiti and Nepal moved
from Not Free to Partly Free. Thailand and the Republic of Congo moved
from Partly Free to Not Free.

The list below features only independent countries. Freedom House's
separate listing of territories reveals that four territories received
the lowest possible political rights rating: Chechnya (Russia), Kashmir
(Pakistan), Tibet (China), and Western Sahara (Morocco); of those,
Chechnya and Tibet also received the lowest possible civil liberties
ratings.

FREE1

Ranking: 1

Andorra

Australia

Austria

Bahamas

Barbados

Belgium

Canada

Cape Verde

Chile

Costa Rica

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Dominica

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Kiribati

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Marshall Islands

Micronesia

Nauru

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Palau

Poland

Portugal

St. Kitts and Nevis

St. Lucia

San Marino

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Tuvalu

United Kingdom

United States

Uruguay

Ranking: 1.5

Belize

Bulgaria

Ghana

Greece

Grenada

Israel

Japan

Mauritius

Monaco

Panama

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

South Korea

Taiwan

Ranking: 2

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Benin

Botswana

Brazil

Croatia

Dominican Republic

Mali

Mongolia

Namibia

Romania

Samoa

São Tomé and Príncipe

South Africa

Suriname

Trinidad and Tobago

Vanuatu

Ranking: 2.5

El Salvador

Guyana

India

Indonesia

Jamaica

Lesotho

Mexico

Peru

Senegal

Serbia

Ukraine

PARTLY FREE1

Ranking: 3

Albania

Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Colombia

Ecuador

Georgia

Honduras

Kenya

Macedonia

Montenegro

Nicaragua

Niger

Papua New Guinea

Paraguay

Philippines

Seychelles

Turkey

Ranking: 3.5

Comoros

East Timor

Guatemala

Liberia

Madagascar

Malawi

Moldova

Mozambique

Sierra Leone

Solomon Islands

Tanzania

Zambia

Ranking: 4

Bangladesh

Burkina Faso

Guinea-Bissau

Kuwait

Malaysia

Nigeria

Sri Lanka

Tonga

Venezuela

Ranking: 4.5

Armenia

Burundi

Central African Republic

Gambia

Haiti

Jordan

Kyrgyzstan

Lebanon

Mauritania

Morocco

Nepal

Singapore

Uganda

Ranking: 5

Afghanistan

Bahrain

Djibouti

Ethiopia

Fiji

Gabon

Yemen

NOT FREE1

Ranking: 5.5

Algeria

Angola

Azerbaijan

Bhutan

Brunei

Cambodia

Congo, Dem. Rep. of

Congo, Rep. of

Egypt

Guinea

Kazakhstan

Maldives

Oman

Pakistan

Qatar

Russia

Rwanda

Tajikistan

Thailand

Togo

Tunisia

United Arab Emirates

Ranking: 6

Cameroon

Chad

Iran

Iraq

Swaziland

Vietnam

Ranking: 6.5

Belarus

China

Côte d'Ivoire

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Laos

Saudi Arabia

Syria

Zimbabwe

Ranking: 7

Cuba

Libya

Myanmar (Burma)

North Korea

Somalia

Sudan

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan

1. Countries are ranked according to
political rights and civil liberties on a scale from 1.0 (most free) to
7.0 (least free).